Summary

Chapter 5

When Brian wakes again, he is suddenly very thirsty. Brian drinks his fill at the lake, but is sick when he is done. Brian then becomes aware of an insistent hunger, but he has no idea what he might be able to eat. Brian remembers an old English teacher who was always trying to motivate the students. Brian uses one of the teacher’s tricks now by taking inventory of everything he has. It turns out he has little more than some money, his hatchet, and himself. Brian becomes overwhelmed with desperation for a moment, but then begins to focus what he can control, not what he cannot.

Chapter 6

Brian explores the area around the lake and finds a natural bowl-shaped impression in the side of a ledge where he decides to make a shelter for himself. As Brian gathers wood to make the shelter, he...